The invention relates generally to the field of facilitating recycling of containers which include a composite of recyclable and non-recyclable components.
Modern packages and packaging methods enable a wide variety of products to be contained and shielded from environmental contact during storage, shipping, and sale. Plastic packaging, in particular, offers tremendous flexibility in packaging opportunities. Shortcomings of plastic packaging materials, however, include their long lifespan in the environment and the non-suitability of plastics for recycling when the plastics are mixed with other materials (e.g., when they are mixed with paper, metals, or food waste). The long time period required for most plastics to degrade in the environment makes plastics undesirable in the waste stream. Reducing the quantity of plastics in the waste stream is therefore a significant and long-standing need. Technology useful for increasing the fraction of plastic in the waste stream that can be diverted from landfill and incineration and into recycling operations would be beneficial. Such technology is disclosed herein.
Among recent advances in packaging has been the advent of packages lined with thin plastic sheets or layers. By way of example, co-owned U.S. patent application publication number 2012/0228306 describes a variety of containers in which thin plastic sheets soiled with (for example) food wastes (i.e., rendering those plastic sheets unacceptable for the recycling programs of many municipal systems) can be peeled from recyclable portions of containers, the relatively small quantity of soiled plastic sheets being discarded as waste, while the relative large quantity of remaining container materials are suitable for recycling streams.
For relatively large containers (e.g., large tray-shaped containers, such as those used for supporting cuts of meat or for packaging household-sized quantities of fruits or vegetables), the value of recycling the bulk of the large containers is immediately apparent to consumers, and many consumers will peel surface sheets and recycle the bulk containers. However, for relatively small containers (e.g., those used to contain individual servings of foods or beverage components), at least some consumers may consider the quantity of material in the small container insufficient to justify the difficulty or hassle of peeling container liners and recycling the (small) bulk container.
An example of such containers are small, cup-shaped containers which contain ingredients (e.g., ground coffee or tea leaves) sufficient to make individual servings of beverages. These containers tend to be smaller than an average hen's egg, and therefore appear to consumers not to contain an amount of recyclable material sufficient to justify complicated recycling procedures. However, because these containers are typically used for single servings only, large numbers of such containers (including relative large amounts of recyclable plastic) can be used, especially at centralized locations such as offices, cafeterias, and kitchens. These cups, for example, can be made with a peelable liner having a lidstock securely fastened to the liner so that, following their use, the liner, lidstock, and materials (e.g., used coffee grounds or spent tea) contained between them can be pulled away from a plastic cup to which the liner is bound, and the cup can be recycled while the other materials are discarded. While these cups facilitate such recycling, they may not be widely used unless removal of non-recyclable elements is simple, easy, and perhaps even ‘fun.’
Apparatus and methods for easing the peeling of non-recyclable materials from recyclable containers are disclosed herein and are expected to enhance the willingness of end users to separate recyclable and non-recyclable materials in lined containers.